The lighting in the warehouse had transformed the area, making the inside really feel like a home. Soft and dim. Calm. He gestured to the ceiling. “That is great, but not my surprise.”
“Better than candles or the lanterns. I think it makes everything cozy.”
“It does.” He pulled on her hand. “But I wanted to show you something else.”
Anna followed him out of the bedroom, through the kitchen, to the other little room in the house, which used to be an animal quarantine area. All the industrial modifications had been stripped out. Instead, he opened the door to a room with a soft purple color on every wall, and the little crib.
“See?” Atlas reached over and turned the lighting on for this room. “Ta da?”
“. . . Oh!” Anna’s mouth opened wide.
Over the crib, he’d painted some little farm animals, trying hard to remember how the humans used to decorate and prepare for a new baby. There were even some shelves to hold the little baby clothes Anna had stitched on the ride from Earth. And, of course, some of his plants also lined the walls.
He gently reached over, cupping her cheek. “You love it?”
“Yes I do.” She touched his arm. “You get a gold star.”
Back on Earth, right before the war, babies had nurseries set up similar to the ones at the facility. They were designed for easy access, for androids to take over primary rearing, with glass walls and constant observation.
But not this room. It took a lot of digging through memory files, but he’d modeled this nursery after long-lost history books. Things he’d never experienced, but felt right. Back when mothers stayed with their children and still held them with their own arms. The people still left on Earth seemed to have gone back to those ways. That’s how Tilly appeared to have been raised with Nora.
At least, he thought the nursery he made was modeled after those times. After all, he was drawing on references from long before he was constructed. Who could really know for sure?
Atlas cleared his throat. “I tried to make the room like babies used to have long, long ago. Like in the movies.” He pointed to some drawings on the wall. “Tilly added a few pieces of artwork too.”
Anna turned, and her eyes sparkled. “You fixed everything?”
“Yes.” He pulled her back into his arms and placed his hands over her stomach. “I’m ready too.”
Chapter forty-five
Anna
“Yeah!” Anna grinned down at the tablet, putting down the pencil. “Milk production is definitely up.” She slid the tablet on the counter toward Nora. “And what’s more, you can see that every cow has produced more. Not just one. They must really like us.”
“Let me see.” Nora examined the ledger.
Anna scratched Tatertot behind the ears. The cat purred and flicked his tail from side to side, his amber eyes half closed.
“Yeah it’s clear!” Nora grinned. “Take that! We can do this.”
The numbers were so satisfying. Milk production was up, way up. There was undeniable proof that they were making a difference. Anna lifted her chin. “Well. Hopefully they can see we are different now.”
There was a thumbprint of dust on the tablet where Nora touched. She wiped at it, but only made the screen dirtier. “I don’t know if they all even care. The androids on our side like usmore now, but the ones that were scared and resentful . . .well, there’s no changing their minds.”
Still, warmth spread through Anna’s chest. “Let’s rub these numbers in their faces.”
“I will tonight at that dumb dinner.” Nora side-eyed Anna. “How have you been? No more memory loss?”
Anna shrugged. The headaches, even when waking up in the morning, never really went away. But that didn’t matter right now.
“I’m alright. I can make it through until the baby is here.” She sighed heavily. “Atlas made the sweetest spot for the baby yesterday. After we are done here, you gotta come see.”
“Aw, that’s cute.” Nora smiled. “Sure I will, but go back and rest now, Anna. I see how you’re hunched over.”
Anna pushed out from the desk. “I still need to clean those jugs from yesterday.”
“No,” Nora said. “Simon can work while we sleep and clean those. Even standing is wearing you out. Go lie down.”
